Two more fired nurses have filed lawsuits against the Department of Health and Environmental Control saying they were wrongly terminated in violation of the state's Whistleblower Act.

Previously, Malinda Martin, the DHEC program manager for tuberculosis, filed a lawsuit alleging she was wrongly terminated.

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DHEC says Martin was fired because she did not conduct more testing at Ninety Six Primary School, the site of a TB outbreak. DHEC's position was that she "held the authority and ability to test the children, and by not doing so, she placed the public's health at risk."

Martin maintains if she had conducted tests herself, she would have violated several state and federal laws.

Wednesday, Attorney John Reckenbeil filed lawsuits on behalf of former DHEC nurses Latrina Richard and Anne Ashley, also citing wrongful termination in violation of the Whistleblower Act. He also represents Martin.

Reckenbeil said the nurses begged the central DHEC office in Columbia to release more information in the case and arrange additional testing since they did not have the authority or resources to do so.

"The only people that had the resources were the people in Columbia that decided that this wasn't a big deal," Reckenbeil said.

The lawsuits filed on behalf of Ashley, former TB case manager for Abbeville and McCormick counties, and Richard, former site supervisor for the Greenwood County Health Department, said after an initial investigation into an index case of TB in Greenwood County on March 7 and 8, the investigation led to Ninety Six Elementary, where the "index case" worked.

The lawsuit alleges that "at the very outset" Ashley, Richard and other on-site DHEC nurses determined that a classroom down the hall was exposed to the index case via an air duct.

Of the 12 people exposed in the classroom, eight tested positive for TB, a majority being students, according to the lawsuit.

The suit says Ashley and Richard sent emails and text messages and made phone calls to the central DEHC TB office. The lawsuit says that despite being told of the "gravity of the situation" by the now-terminated nurses, DHEC failed to respond to the requests and "made the decision not to test the school children until May 31, more than approximately two months after being informed of the initial investigation results."

Ashley and Richard were terminated on June 11 based on DHEC's position that they had the authority and ability to test the children at Ninety Six Primary School, and by not doing so, "placed the public's heath at risk."

DHEC defends actions taken

DHEC officials said they cannot comment because of the pending litigation, but earlier in June, DHEC said in a release, "'Individuals in the school were infected by March 8. The damage was done before the case was even referred to DHEC,' said Infectious Disease Specialist, Dr. Richard Ervin. 'DHEC does not know the status of the index case at the time of hire. State law requires testing at the point of hire for anyone working in a public or private school, or kindergarten. The law also states anyone applying for a position in one of these settings must obtain a health certificate from a licensed physician certifying the person does not have active TB as a prerequisite of employment. SC Regulation 61-22 requires school employees shall have a TB test prior to employment.'

“'DHEC instructed the index case not to return to the school immediately upon receiving the report on March 8,'” according to Director Catherine Templeton, who also said, “'Blaming DHEC for TB is like blaming a policeman for a car accident. We are here to determine what happened and help straighten out the mess.'”

"DHEC investigated and tested approximately 38 individuals, including school employees, in March and early April. 'Staff reports the school was told in March. In addition, the school staff was heavily involved in the investigation and was being tested. I’m not sure how the superintendent/acting principal missed it,' said Templeton.

"DHEC asked the school to send out an email distribution to parents, and actually printed and delivered the materials that went home in the students’ backpacks over the Memorial Day weekend. Director Templeton personally called the superintendent/acting principal and asked him to send out an email to his distribution list.

“It was DHEC who instructed the school to tell the parents about the potential exposure. It was DHEC who offered to host a public meeting with a medical doctor so the parents could understand the risks. It was DHEC who found funding to test the children, which was over and beyond CDC guidelines. We are here to help.”